enter
verb (used without object)
to come or go in.
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entr.
enter
1 American
[en-ter]
/ ˈɛn tər /
verb (used without object)
enters,
present (3rd person singular)
entered,
past participle, past
entering
present participle
-
to come or go in.
Knock before you enter.
- Antonyms:
- leave
-
to be admitted into a school, competition, etc..
Some contestants enter as late as a day before the race.
-
to make a beginning (often followed by on orupon ).
We have entered upon a new phase in history.
-
Theater. to come upon the stage (used in stage directions as the 3rd person imperative singular or plural).
Enter Othello, and Iago at a distance.
verb (used with object)
enters,
present (3rd person singular)
entered,
past participle, past
entering
present participle
-
to come or go into.
He just entered the building. The thought never entered my mind.
-
to penetrate or pierce.
The bullet entered the flesh.
-
to put in or insert.
- Antonyms:
- remove
-
to become a member of; join.
to enter a club.
-
to cause to be admitted, as into a school, competition, etc..
to enter a horse in a race.
-
to make a beginning of or in, or begin upon; engage or become involved in.
He entered the medical profession.
-
to share in; have an intuitive understanding of.
In order to appreciate the novel, one must be able to enter the spirit of the work.
-
to make a record of; record or register.
to enter a new word in a dictionary.
-
Law.
-
Computers. to put (a document, program, data, etc.) into a computer system.
Enter your new document into the word-processing system.
-
to put forward, submit, or register formally.
to enter an objection to a proposed action; to enter a bid for a contract.
-
to report (a ship, cargo, etc.) at the custom house.
verb phrase
enter-
2
American
enter
British
/ ˈɛntə /
verb
-
to come or go into (a place, house, etc)
-
to penetrate or pierce
-
(tr) to introduce or insert
-
to join (a party, organization, etc)
-
to become involved or take part (in)
to enter a game
to enter into an agreement
-
(tr) to record (an item such as a commercial transaction) in a journal, account, register, etc
-
(tr) to record (a name, etc) on a list
-
(tr) to present or submit
to enter a proposal
-
(intr) theatre to come on stage: used as a stage direction
enter Juliet
-
to begin; start
to enter upon a new career
-
to come into possession (of)
-
(tr) to place (evidence, a plea, etc) before a court of law or upon the court records
-
(tr) law
-
to go onto and occupy (land)
-
to file a claim to (public lands)
-
Usage
What does enter- mean? Enter- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “intestine.” The intestines are the long tract of the digestive system that runs from the stomach to the anus. Enter- is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology. Enter- comes from the Greek énteron, meaning “intestine.” A scientific term for the digestive tract (alimentary canal) is enteron, which comes from this same Greek root. The word dysentery, literally meaning “bad bowels,” also derives from the Greek énteron. Enter- is a variant of entero-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use entero- article.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
enterernoun
-
preenterverb (used without object)
-
enterableadjective
-
unenterableadjective
-
unenteredadjective
-
well-enteredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
entersimple
-
enterssimple
-
have enteredperfect
-
has enteredperfect
-
am enteringprogressive
-
are enteringprogressive
-
is enteringprogressive
-
have been enteringperfect progressive
-
has been enteringperfect progressive
Past
-
enteredsimple
-
had enteredperfect
-
was enteringprogressive
-
were enteringprogressive
-
had been enteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enter
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrāre “to enter,” from intrā intra- ( def. )
Explanation
To enter is to go inside or into a place. When you enter your house after school, you might pet your cat and take off your shoes. You might enter the kitchen to see what's for dinner, or enter the library to look for a book to read. In both cases, you go from one place into another, through a doorway. If you're an actor, the word enter takes on a different meaning: to appear on the stage during a play. The stage directions might read, "Enter the King, stage left." Countries also enter wars, and people enter contests — they register or become involved.
Vocabulary lists containing enter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That vapor raises the pressure inside the food and makes it harder for oil to enter.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
When the app is released, fans can download it to their phones and enter their account information to get their tickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
They refused him entry, but let him enter temporarily anyway as the next flight back to Stavanger was not for three days.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
They added that no safe route of access has been found into the facility, meaning that it has not been possible to enter so far.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The man quickly opened the door so that more men could enter, bringing a cold gust of air in behind them.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
The hope was that they could observe Kirk remotely enter- ing the computer and then identify the security breach.
From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Schwartau, Winn
Slipping along here covertly as Time, Bathsheba fancied she could hear footsteps enter- ing the track at the opposite end.
From Far from the Madding Crowd by Hardy, Thomas
But in this, as in all speculative enter- prises, the prizes have been few and the blanks many.
From Everybody's Guide to Money Matters: with a description of the various investments chiefly dealt in on the stock exchange, and the mode of dealing therein by Cotton, William
On enter- 193:3 ing the house I met his physician, who said that the patient was dying.
From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Eddy, Mary Baker
Soche a one was this Epaminundas, the famous Duke of Thebe, whose vertues gaue hym honour in life, and famous enter- prises, immortalitée of fame after death.
From A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde by Rainolde, Richard
The findings support a broader model in which fresh magma gradually enters and rebuilds reservoirs beneath giant calderas after major eruptions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
The EU's comprehensive AI law enters into force in stages.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Ultimately, what sisterhood there is between “Five-Star Weekend” and “Ride or Die” can be seen in the way they consider the resources a woman has as she enters middle age.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
The streamlined beak of the kingfisher, which enters the water almost without a splash, became the model for the nose of Japan’s bullet train.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
In it, the tale’s heroine, Edith-Anne Pevington, enters her trusty pony, Rainbow, in a pony-and-rider show.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
These measurements helped reveal how water escaped from the potatoes and how oil entered the spaces it left behind.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
LA28 said all lotteries are random to preserve fairness for those who entered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Rescue workers rushed to the scene and entered the building in the evening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The jobs squeeze has been felt especially among young women who had seen decades of growing opportunity as more entered the workplace.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
As to the thought of spirits, this never entered our brains.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The Sparks trailed by only one point, 85-84, entering the fourth quarter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Later events in our lives, like entering a new relationship, experiencing a breakup or dealing with bereavement, can also be influential.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
After deploying last week, the Lebanese army initially prevented residents from entering Zawtar al-Gharbiya while it carried out search and sweep operations, before allowing locals to check their homes in recent days.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Customers are entering the latest episode with sufficient inventory and a more disciplined purchasing approach, reducing the potential of panic buying, she reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Most of the parks had benches, and if the weather was pleasant, he’d sit, read, think, and just be, an activity not atypical of many men entering late life.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
